A first glance at Bradley "B.J." Mitchell would not lead you to think he's a college football player. Perhaps not even a high school football player.

And you would be dead wrong, both about first appearances and Mount Union's 5-foot-6, 165-pound freshman.

He's not only a player for the No. 1-ranked, unbeaten Purple Raiders, Mitchell is a star running back whose meteoric rise from the JV team to starter in Game 7 has electrified and balanced the offense.

With speed to burn Mitchell naturally runs outside. But he is equally effective starting between the tackles and then finding daylight, to the consternation of bulky defensive linemen.

"B.J. is the X factor, I think, for us," said quarterback Kevin Burke, after Mitchell's 143 yards helped bury Wittenberg 56-21 in last week's second-round playoff win. "He's got great agility, great awareness. He's a great running back. He knows when to put his nose down and get a yard or two when we need a first down.

"And obviously, he knows how to make plays with his feet and make people miss. ... It's really just a key part of our game because it keeps the defense on their toes."

What Mitchell has done is produce 7.0 yards a crack and 1,092 yards in a short time. Handed his first start Oct. 26 against Otterbein, Mitchell gained a modest 69 yards on 15 carries.

Then in five November Saturdays, he ripped off successive games of 152, 114, 157, 181 and 143 yards to become Mount Union's first freshman to hit 1,000 yards since Nate Kmic in 2005.

Mitchell has six 100-yard games overall. Six games this season, he has produced a run of 30 or more yards, including four in the past five as he has found his way as a starter.

"It's starting to slow down," Mitchell said about the speed of the college game. "For me, practicing with the starting team, the more and more reps I get, it comes easier."

He sure got good in a hurry. Through the season's first six games, Mitchell had only 277 yards in mop-up wins.

What the back from St. Clair Shores, Mich., didn't know was that head coach Vince Kehres and his coaches had been monitoring his every move since before he set foot on campus.

"We saw flashes on a highlight film he gave to us when we were recruiting him," Kehres said. "He had some really good quickness and speed. He was small, but we've had small backs before, so that didn't worry us.

"Then in preseason camp we saw some more flashes, and we thought he might be pretty good."

Good, but not good enough initially to supplant Germany Woods, Mason Minnick or Logan Nemeth. With the running game in idle and reliant on the shifty Burke through the season's early going, Kehres looked to Mitchell for a spark.

What he got when Kehres lit the fuse was a firecracker back. A five-carry, 105-yard game with a 47-yard run against Wilmington let Kehres know "it was time to let him get some carries, and he took off with it."

Mitchell said he just did what came naturally.

"Instinct," Mitchell said of his running style of quick cuts and plants. "We have a set play. I follow the play. Once I break the line of scrimmage, I let my instincts take over, and kind of turn the switch off in my brain."

In his first playoff game, Mitchell simply flowed. His 181 yards against Washington & Jefferson came on a career-best 31 carries.

Presidents head coach Mike Sirianni, who watched Mitchell previously on Mount's JV team in the teams' preseason scrimmage, said, "I think he ran for 400 yards against us in both games."

Mitchell can hit the kill switch when he doesn't have the ball, too. He'll throw his body into a linebacker if it means allowing Burke, a fellow giant in a smaller body, to get the corner.

Burke does the same for his guy.

"B.J.'s a lot faster than me," said Burke. "But as a play develops I have an opportunity to get out on the edge and get out in front of him a little. That's all he needs.

"Even if I was there or wasn't, B.J. would make the guy miss. Me being there and blocking is just the way I was taught .... I see him blocking for me; I've got to help him out sometime."

Mitchell has shown he doesn't need much help. All he needs is a crack to run through, and the opportunity.